Motor heat indicator



Patented Feb. 9 1932 UNITED g STATES HARRISON HURBERT Boston; or NEWYORK, 1\T.-Y.

moren HEAT INDICATOR Continuation of application Serial No. 487385,filed October 9, 1930. 9, 1930. Serial No. 5oo,99o.

This invention relates in general to devices `for indicating the heat'condition within the cooling system of the automotive internalcombustion engines mountedon a radiator cap and particularly relates toan improved housing for the indicating element, ths application being acontinuation of my copending application Ser. No. 487385, filed October9th, 1930. r

One of the principal objects of this invention is to provide a transarent housing of glass or the like of simpli ed plate form eX- 'tendingabove the radiator Cap which is secured to the radiator cap in asecure-and rigid nanner and which is provided with a central fiat sidedbore into which the indicating device extends and through which the'indicating element may be observed 'without a reducing distortion; r i rr Another object of this invention is to pro vide novel means 'forattachingan all glass heat indicating housing to a metal `or bakeliteradiator cap which will be simple in construction and ornamental inappearance.

Another object of this invention is to pro vide a glassmotor heatindicator housing for a heat indicate-r connected in such a way as tofacilitate the manufacture of the glass housing and wherebytheindication of the heat indcator will be more completely preserved andwhereby the assembly of all-the parte will be faciltated. i

Another object of this invention is to providea plate glass housing fora motor heat indicator which is provided with a central bore having fiatfaces, rectangular or poly onal in cross section whereby the line' 'ofvision of the operator will pass through a fiat face adjacent theindicating column and will be undistorted. v

Another object of this' invention is to provide a plate glass housingfor a motor heat indicator in which 'the usual distortion prescnt withcylindrical bores is ob'viated.

Further objects and advantages of this inventon will become apparentfrom the specification, claims and the appended drawings in which: v j

Figure 1 isa side elevation of a motor heat indicator having an allplate glass'housing.

This application 'filed December Figure 2 is a vertical cross section atright angles to Figure 1 and substantially on the center line thereof;

Figures 3 and 4 are horizontal sections on the line 3 3 and 4-4 ofFigures 1 and 2 resp'ectively. i i i In my copending application thereis disclosed a type of motor heat indicator having a one piece glasshousing structure for the heat indicator element and which is providedwith a central bore into which the indicating element is inserted. Whenin such constructions of motor heat indicat ors the interier surface ofthe bore is curved, a cer- My present device'consists essentially of r aglass housing 10 which is provided with a central bore lwhich as shownin Figures 3 and l is provided with flat sdes 1011. The' sides lOa maycpreferably be the sides of a squarein-cross section oflering aflatsurface through which the indicating stem 14: is observed. The lenselementsl are placed adjacent the danger zone of the indicating columnonly, and magnify this range of indi'- 'cation The indicatingstem 14 ispreferably' filled with anindicating fluid 18 which 'is responsive toheat and which rises in the indicatingstem 14 in a well known manner.When the heat condition is such that the liquid 18 reachessubstantiallythe top of the column l la danger zone is said to have been reached andthe lens 16 acts to concentrate the light rays and to magnify thereading so that the danger condition may be instantly noticed. Arefiector 15 .which may be of paper or metal is preferable as a hackingfor the stem 14 and aids to make the indi'- cation more vvid anddistinct As will be noted in Figure l, the indicating column of liqui-d18 is visible from the front oroperator s side and the operator isusually observant of the column in the lower range which is theusualheat condition within the radiator, not shown, to which themotor-heat indicator 10 is atfixed.` 'As the ing 10 is alsosubstantially flat, the column of liquid 18 will appear in its true sizerather than reduced as is the case if a curved or cylindrical bore wereprovided. The indication of liquid 18 is thus not only its true size butis always uniform whether viewed from one angular. position or anotherand the full width of the indicating column can be read from theoperator s position. If the column of liquid reaches the danger zone,the lens 16 acts to magnify the reading.

In order to mount the indicating stem 14 within the casing 16, rubbergaskets 20and 21 are provided which closely fit the central bore 12cooperating with the fiat sides thereof and centrally supporting theindicating stem .14 so that the stem will be held in its fixed positionand will not be'jarred loose. A supportingmember 22 which may preferablybe made of metal and providedwvith a guard or shank 24 to protectthe'heatresponsive end of the indicatingelement is secured to thehousing 10` by means of a split ring 26. The ring 26 which is smallerthan the housing 10 Vis split in order that it may be assembled over thehousing 10 and fitted into place within the angular edge of the isupporting member 22. The projection 28 on the supporting member 22 isprovidedto cooperate with the depression 30 in the bas-e of the housing10 so that the housing will not turn relative to the supporting member22.' A spacing member ongasket 32 is positioned between theglass housing10 and the metallic supporting member 22 in order that the housing maybe forced tightly into contact with the supporting member without injuryto the glass. The gasket 32 may be provided with patent markings orother information 33 which material can abe observed through thetransparent base of th` all glass housing 10. A suitable nut 34 on theguard 24 is provided for .aflixing the motor heat indicating housing toa `radiator cap, not shown. e

Although the fiat surface of the bore is shown as a side of a square,other flat surfaces couldbe used for the interior of the housing and thecross sections may be a triangle or other polygons which would vary thewidth ,of theflat side. To insure the best vision and to reducedistortion when the indicating stem is viewed from the front of an allglass type housing, the full fiat surface provided by the square shapedaperture is preferable'.- Such an aperture may be formed by molding orinany desired manner. It may be-provided with the refiector 15 is shownor it maybe otherwise treated to give an opaque background.

The reflector 15 is desirably U shape throughout itsmaj or lengthas isshown'in Figure 2 and Figure 3. At the top, however, the back of thereflector 15 is removed 'as i shown in Figure 4 in order that the lightwhich comes through the lens 16 may be focused on the column of liquid18 to thus indicate the danger condition. The lens 16 in the line ofvision of the operator seye magnifies the reading and due to the lightconcentrated on the liquid column by the lens 16 on the opposite side ofthe motor heat indicator housing, the movenent of the liquid 18 in therange of the lens members 16 will be doubly noticeable. v v

The sides of the reflector 15 extend to the top of the aperture 12,however, in order to space the refiector in the aperture and to preventits' vertical movement while the sidesof the reflector prevent lateralmovement.

The manner by which the housing is secured to the supportingmember maybe Varied,-it being understood that it isdesirable to so' aflix thehousing to the supporting member that when the supporting member issecured to the radiator cap and the cap is screwed tight, the housingwill be turned to the same position each time. The advantages ,of thesplit ring are that a larger housing may be provided with a relativelysmall supporting member and the motor heat indicator not only has theadvantages of utility, ease of reading and Simplicity in Constructionbut it is also ornamental and of attractive appearance. w

WVhile I have shown a preferred form of embodiment of my device, I amaware that other modifications may be made therein and I thereforedesire a broad interpretation of mydevice within the scope and spiritthereof androf the claims appended hereinafter.

-I claim:

1. In a device for indicatng the heat condition within an automotiveradiator, an all glass housing member having a central aperture thereinand a flared base, said aperture having fiat sides throughout the lineof vision, a heat responsive element mounted within said housing member,means to secure said heat responsive element within said housing member,said means including a supporting member and a split ring surroundingsaid fiared base and secured to said supporting amember, and means toprevent rotation of ,said housing, sai-d housing having a centralaperture, said supporting member cooperating to secure said indicatingstem within said aperture, said aperture having a plurality offiatsides, one of which is within-the line of vision whereby the true width'of the indicating stem may be observed; k i

3. A motor heat indicator of the class described, an all glass housinghaving a base, a supporting member for securing said indicat-or to aradiator cap, and a gasket mountecl between said base and saidsupporting member, and printed matter on said gasket observable throughsaid base.

4. A motor heat indic'ator of the class described, an all glass housinghaving a base, a supporting member for securing said indicator to aradiator cap, and a gasket mounted between said base and said supportingmember, and printed matter on said gasket observable through said base,said housing having a central bore having flat sides, a heat responsiveelement mounted in said housing and means within said bore adapted tofacilitate reading of said element.

5. A motor heat indicator as claimed in claim 4, ,in which the crosssection through said central bore is a square.

6. A motor heat indicator having an all glass housing with a flat sidedcentral aperture therein, a plurality of lens adjacent the top of saidhousing, said housing adapted to receive a heat inclicating device whichmay be observed through said lens, and a reflector fitting within saidaperture to emphasize the reaclings of said heat indicating device.

7. A motor heat indicator as claimed in claim 6 in which a part of therefiector is broken away acljacent the lens element.

In testimony whereof I have afiixed my signature to this s ecification.

HA RISON H. BOYCE.

